On my way to work tonight I decided to stop by a 7/11 to buy some gum. My normal stash in my car was out, and in preparation for the multiple cups of coffee I knew  I would be consuming I wanted to be prepared to fight the inevitable coffee breath. As I pulled up to the gas station and got out of my car I noticed a homeless man standing near the door of the 7/11. I made eye contact with him, and waited in anticipation for him to ask for money. He did, and I politely told him that I didn’t have any spare change, but that I would gladly buy him some food. He eagerly limped inside and shyly selected some yogurt and a sucker. Despite my multiple attempts to get him to pick out something hot, he graciously declined and followed me up to the register. I continued to make small talk with him while he asked about work and where I had grown up, he was very respectful and very old school in his manner of speech. After we chatted for about 10 minutes I bid my farewell, not wanting to be late for work, and left him sitting on a stack of diet coke boxes in the warmth of the 7/11.

There was something refreshing about our conversation, something that caused me to be thankful. I asked him where he stayed and he said, “oh a $100 sleeping bag just up the road,” almost unfazed by his misfortune or the frigid temperatures. As I drove to work I wondered to myself who had impacted who more. And the more I thought about it the more blessed I felt by this random homeless man’s unprecedented positive outlook, then my small act of generosity. I hadn’t offered to buy him food to see what was in it for me, yet somehow I walked away from that situation feeling as if he was the one feeding me instead of the other way around.

The more I thought about it the more I realized that in just 10 minutes of conversation that homeless man had taught me the most valuable lesson I would learn all week: the importance of seeing the beauty in things, even when we think it isn’t there.  For instance, there he was, homeless and freezing, no money for food, and nowhere to go for warmth. Yet when I offered to buy him food he accepted the minimum, not trying to take advantage of the situation, and when I lent him my ear for a few minutes he didn’t spend the time talking about how unfortunate his circumstances were, he spent the time complimenting me and questioning me on what I was doing in my life to be a better person, encouraging me to go to church and stressing the importance in being involved in charity work.

We live in a culture that is permeated by so many negative stories and situations that sometimes we lose our ability to see the beauty in life. We get so caught up in going and doing that we don’t take time to appreciate the small things. However, sometimes it is those small things that paint the pretties pictures, or sometimes it is the small things that tell the most elegant stories. There is beauty in life, we just have to make it our goal to see that beauty, and when we find it to appreciate it, cherish it, learn from it, and emulate it.